Water circulation control device



March 27, 1934. E, 5, Tim 1,952,475

WATER CIRCULATION CONTROL DEVICE Filed May 18, 1931 UUUUUUUU I this air accumulates in Patented Mar. 27, 1934 WATER CIRCULATION CONTROL DEVICE Edwin B. Tidd, Chicago, 111.,

assig'nor to Bell &

Gossett Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application May 18, 1931, Serial No. 538,185

4 Claims;

My present invention relates to improvements in water circulation control devices and has special application to a combined system for heating the premises with hot water, and, at the same time and with the same boiler, for furnishing a supply of hot water for domestic or other service purposes. With such a combined system it is desirable to, at all times, maintain a boiler water temperature sufficiently high to heat the service water supply. Such'desired boiler water temperature would keep the premises much too warm so that a valve or other means must be employed to discontinue the house heating circulation'except when the house or premises requires heat. Even when it is not desired to heat a supply of service water there are advantages .in maintaining the boiler water between relatively high temperatures at all times and to admit this relatively hot boiler water to the system of circulation for heating the premises when desired,

and my device will be equally applicable in the When water is heated in a boiler more or less air and gas are liberated therefrom and if one of the'ordinary forms of valves is used to control the circulation from the boiler to the house heating circulating system the system below the valve and interferes with the operation of the safety controls usually provided, and if too much air accumulates it will uncover more or less of the heating surfaces in the boiler and cracki g or some other disaster is pretty sure to foil 1w by reason of the undue heating of theheating surfaces in the boiler from which the water has been forced. Also in such a case steam will form and abnormal and sometimes dangerous pressures will be created in the systems.

My object is to provide a mechanically simple device which may be economically manufactured and installed, which will prevent the accumulation of air in the top of the boiler or the building up of an abnormal pressure therein. I have also provided a device which can be adjusted to prevent a circulation therethrough of water at or under a predetermined temperature but will permit a flow therethrough if the temperature of the boiler water is raised above the predetermined temperature so that when heat is required in the premises it is only necessary to fire the boiler a little harder.

I have found that by the use of my invention I prevent the accumulation of air in the radiators of the house heating, system which is a feature that heretofore uniformly required recurrent attention.

last mentioned case.

I have secured the foregoing objects and reaccompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a schematic view of heating and service water heating my invention applied thereto.

water premises systems with Fig. 2 is an illustration of a'very simple form of device embodying my invention designed for hand control.

Fig. 3 is a view embodying my invention prevent the passage of water below a of a simple form of device which isoperable to predeterrespective views.

The system of premises heating invention applies comprises a top of which leads one or more radiator or radiators to which my boiler 5 from the risers 6 to supply '7 which also communicate with the boiler through the return 8 connected with the bottom of the also have connected ice water heating casing 9 which coil is connected with tank 11 in the usual manner.

cluded in the riser or risers a hot boiler. The boiler 5 may therewith the auxiliary servcontaining a coil 10,

water supply controlling the circulation to the radiators. This device comprises a casting or casing 12 having a suitable opening 13, preferably at the top of one end thereof, for connection the riser 6 which comes from the b havin preferably at the face thereof, an opening the portion of the riser 6 diator or radiators.

Extending from adjacent the the' top of the the bottom of with the portion of oiler and also bottom of the opposite 14 for connection with which goes to the ra casing 12 to bottom thereof opposite the opening 13 is a partition plate 15; and extending from the casing 12 to adjacent the top 14 is a partition plate 16. This arrangement provides within the casing 12 partments A, B and C. and B communicate below the intercommunicating com- The compartments A the plate 15 and the compartments B and C communicate above the plate 16,

In the top of the casing 12, so as cate with the compartment A, is

to communimounted an automatic air valve 1'7, a number of forms of which are in the open market. In the top of above the compartments B municate with said compartments,

manufactured and may be purchased the casing 12,

and C, so as to comis mounted a sults by means of the structure illustrated in the I Interposed and in- 6 ismy device for valve 18 which may operated.

The operation of my device is as follows: Upon the initial heating of the boiler the air liberated upon the heating of the water accumulates in be manually or otherwise compartment A and is normally vented therefrom through the automatic air valve 17. However, if a finger is placed over the discharge port of the valve 17 or its functioning is otherwise interrupted, air will accumulate in the compartment A until of sufi'icient volume to pass under the partition plate 15 and accumulate above and in the compartments B and C. Suflicient air is permitted to accumulate in the tops of the compartments B and C to force the water below the top of the partition 16, when the regular functioning of the automatic air valve 1'7 is permitted to proceed it thereafter vents all of the air-reaching the compartment A and prevents any portion thereof from going into the compartments B and C.

It will be found that as the temperature of the water in the boiler rises, the level of the water in compartment B will also rise, and when the temperature of the boiler water has increased to the point where it is desired to establish a circulation with the radiators, air is permitted to escape through the valve 18 until water flows over the partition 16 from-compartment B' to compart ment C and the circulation through the heating system to the radiators is established. When the temperature of the boiler water drops below the predetermined temperature the level of water in compartment B lowers below the top of the partition 16 and no further flow occurs between the compartments and the flow to the radiators is discontinued so that the device controls the flow to the radiators entirely by the temperature of the boiler water. 'I'hetemperature of the boiler water can be controlled manually by hand firing or by the adjustment of the fire draughts, or if a stoker is used, or gas, or oil are employed for fuel automatic controls situated in the premises may be employed for firing of the boiler.

It will be seen that after the initial adjustment of my apparatus all the air liberated from the water in the boiler is caught and evacuated-from compartment A through the automatic air valve 17 so that no excess of air will accumulate in the system to interfere with the functioning of the boiler and its associated mechanism or the radiators.

It will also be seen that if the firing apparatus of the boiler goes wrong no appreciable amount decreasing or increasing the of steam can accumulate in the top of the boiler so as to cause the uncovering of the crown sheet of the boiler and the danger incident thereto as such steam will easily pass under the partition 15 and over the partition 16 and be condensed in the cooler.

ain it will be seen that the relation of the volume of air in the upper portions of compartments B and C to the capacity of these compartments and the height of the partition 16 determines the flow between the compartments B and C and that air may be introduced through the valve 18 as well as released therethrough to control the amount and proportion of {air desired in the compartments B and C. i

In Fig. 2 I have illustrated a very simple embodiment of my invention comprising an inverted U return bend of pipe 19 in the topof which is provided a valve 20 for manual control. ,At the side of the U 19 and communicating therewith I have mounted an ordinary water-level glass 21 so that the height of the water or the amount of air in the loop may be seen.

The ordinary operation of a boiler liberates suificient air to quickly, that is within an hour or so, accumulate sufiicient air in the loop to trap the circulation and whenv it is desired to establish a circulation, air must be released from the loop by the operation of the valve 20. This form of my invention has all of the advantages of simplicity and safety but requires attention. There are many situations where automatic operation is not required or desired in which the arrangement shown in Fig. 2 would be preferable.

The construction shown in Fig. 3 is similar in all respects, so far as operation is concerned, to the construction shown in Fig. 1 except that instead of employing a casting or other casing with partitions I employ a pair of loops 22 and 23 joined together to provide two downwardly extending passageways communicating through an intermediate upwardly extending passageway. This latter structure may be easily formed of standard p'ipe fittings and when so formed may be equipped with an automatic air vent 17a and valve 18a similar in all respects to valves 17 and 18 illustrated in Fig. 1.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination with a water heater and a system of hot water circulation devices located largely above said heater, means for connecting the hot water discharge from said heater to said system comprising a casing having an inlet port at the top of one side thereof, a wall depending from the top of said casing and extending opposite to and below said inlet port, a wall arising from the bottom of said casing beyond said depending wall and extending above the lower part of said depending wall, said casing having a discharge port located in the side opposite said entrance port and below the top of and opposite the upstanding wall and air control valves located in the top of said casing on opposite sides of said depending wall and a cold water return pipe from said system to said boiler.

2. In combination with a water heater and a system of hot water circulation devices located largely above said heater, means for connecting the hot water discharge port from said heater to the bottom of an upwardly extending riser pipe of said system comprising a structure providing an upwardlyextending passageway with an entrance at the bottom thereof from said heater,

the bottom of an upwardly extending riser 'pipe of said system comprising a structure providing an upwardly extending passageway with an entrance at the bottom thereof from said heater, a downwardly extending passageway with a discharge port at the bottom thereof connected to said riser pipe, said upwardly and downwardly extending passageways having communication at their tops with a common compartment, whereby suflicient air or steam flowing from said heater vto said system to fill said common compartment trance at the bottom thereof from said heater, a downwardly extending passageway with a discharge port at the bottom thereof connected to said riser pipe, said upwardly and downwardly extending passageways having communication at their tops with acommon compartment, whereby sufficient air to fill said common compartment will prevent a circulation of water therethrough and an elevation of the water in said system arising from the expansion of the water when heated by said heater vwill compress the air in said common compartment and permit a liquid circulation between said upwardly and said downwardly extending passageways.

EDWIN B. TIDD. 

